Food Review: New Menu at Skyve at 10 Winstedt Road, Singapore 227977

May 12, 2013

Sometimes I feel so fortunate to be writing a blog about food (and everything else). Why? Because I get to be invited by kind folks to try out new things -- good things, which I then have the pleasure of sharing with you guys. Throughout the tastings, I also meet people that I will never get to meet if not for this. So sometimes I do think, man, am I really lucky.

This time round, I'm reviewing Skyve's new dinner menu! Before I go on with the awesome food porn (self-praise but really... the pics are good) and descriptions, the one-liner summary for the new menu is that it is new and improved, and all the better for it. I've been to Skyve before and reviewed it previously (almost exactly 1 year ago), but I am glad the restaurant has the philosophy of keeping up with the times with new dishes, new flavours for diners to try out.

One of the strongest point for Skyve remains with their decor and ambience. The cheeky faux-scientific place mats remain, as with the vintage furniture mixed with retro cool geometric frames. The place has three areas - the alfresco, the dining hall and the lounge (couches and dimmer lighting).

We started the menu after having some of that delicious soft buns with a very light and enticing appetizer - the Crab & Tomato Momotaro ($22) which is made with chilled crabmeat, confit of tomato momotaro, thai inspired basil pesto and topped with the refreshing yuzu sorbet. A very 'fresh' combination that is sure to pry open your stomach just a little bit wider.

The next appetizer was a crowd favorite among the ladies. The Sous Vide Egg & Spaghettini ($18) with soft poached egg, spaghettini in truffle salsa, iberico ham and truffle hollandaise (clarified butter and egg yolk). It was an appetizer but you might want to think twice about sharing..

The egg was poached to perfection, of course. The iberico ham gave the al dente spaghettini that salty whack it needed to bring out the flavours, with the truffle giving the usual goodness. Addictive, and gone in 60 seconds.

Then we move on to the mains! A lighter main to start would be the Cereal Crusted Cod ($36) which is made of cereal and spice crusted cod fish, seasonal vegetables and soyu ginger vinaigrette. As you can tell, it has been influenced by Chinese style 'zichar' with the cereal prawns/chicken being transferred to fish as well. A relatively light dish with a sweet savoury cereal, this is sure a favorite among the older folks hankering for some familiar taste (try explaining sous vide to them).

We also had the fortune to try out some of Skyve Bar's drinks. This is the Old School Mojito ($18) - guaranteed to elicit a response from onlookers because it looks exactly like the sugarcane juice that you would order from the food centre for $1.50, except this is alcoholic and comes with fresh mint and lime.

Distractions of the bloggers aside, let's move on to the next two mains shall we?

The next was "Tongue in cheeks" ($36) which is sous vide 6 hours wagyu beef cheeks, tempura of wagyu beef tongue, glazed baby carrots and garlic pomme Purée. This was a relatively strong tasting main. For some reason it did not really impress, except for the soft melt-in-mouth beef.

What did impress was the Lamb Rack ($40). The marinated lamb rack was grilled, served with curry spiced roasted pumpkin, roulade of savoury cabbage and mint and mango chutney. The meat was juicy, smokey and tender. Little hint of lamb. Bigger on the satisfaction.

Last but not least, not one, but three desserts! We are in luck because I find Skyve to do excellent desserts - due perhaps to their gastronomy experiments. The first was Mango & Cheese Semifreddo ($12) which is made of rippled frozen mousse, frozen lime foam on top and sablee cookies as the base. Topped with bits of flowers. It was pretty to look at, light to take in, and packs a good mix of sweet, tart, soft and crunchy. This was my favorite among the 3!

Next was Inspired by Reds ($12) made with strawberry parfait, sous vide strawberry in balsamic vinegar, raspberry sorbet, flower tuile, dehydrated raspberry and served with oreo cookies below. A very 'valentine's' dessert but one that was also delightful.

Lastly, the classic Tiramisu ($12) with lady finger sponge infused with coffee liqueur, whipped marscarpone cream and kahlua granita. It has a classic name, but if you look at the presentation you'll realized it is served with a twist! I like how they deconstructed it. The kahlua granita was super fun to eat (it's like coffee liquer ice bits) as it mixes with the cream and the soaked lady finger sponge.

I really liked the way Skyve has evolved the menu over time with the chef incorporating inspirations from Japan and Asia to come up with fusion Western food that is different. Though a bit pricey, I would say to keep Skyve in your list for special occasions or to visit them for their famous weekend brunch.

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I'm Alexis Cheong - A Singapore food and lifestyle blogger. Passionate about good food, travel and beauty or gadgets. This blog is a place where I want to share all the things I love with over 17,700 views per month. Feel free to contact me to say hello or find out how we can collaborate.